Many filmmakers will know the doggedness required to find funding for a debut work.
MBC Shahid Originals’ new Arabic-language series Brando El Sharq opens with its protagonist in the thick of this beaten trail. Smiling ear to ear, Youssef tries to maintain a fervent demeanour as he goes from one producer’s office to another, pitching his film The Silent Bullet.
Youssef’s film and its genre is mercurial and delightfully prone to outside influence.
At its heart, The Silent Bullet is set in 1930s Lebanon and tells the story of a suicidal man who purchases a pistol in instalments, deciding not to kill himself until after he has paid off his debt. In the meantime, the man falls in love with the woman at the store where he found his gun.
However, the romance in Youssef's film, which starts with glum beginnings, changes its form in each producer's office. As Youssef eagerly tries to sell them the story, he gives in to the producers’ suggestions and his film shapeshifts into hilarious parodies of various Arab film and television trends, while hopscotching between genres from action to drama and slapstick comedy. The audience is taken along these giddy and exaggerated transformations that often pay homage to classic films from Taxi Driver to Casablanca.
Georges Khabbaz, who wrote the series and also stars in it, says Brando El Sharq was born, in part, from his desire to encompass his favourite genres of classic cinema into one project, while also telling a very particular story in a novel way.
“The film in Youssef’s head is set in the 1930s, so immediately you go to Charlie Chaplin when he’s asked to do comedy,” Khabbaz says. “Or, when he’s asked for a drama, his film becomes similar to Casablanca; when he’s asked for an action film we go to action tropes. These tropes are patterns we can all recognise, and I put them in a certain way.”
With each iteration of Youssef’s film, we also get a glimpse of his actual life and the tragedies that have darkened it. The people around him are featured as his film’s characters in fictionalised re-enactments that reflect on the developments of his own life, all while ensuring its comedic flair.
“Youssef, in a way, is Chaplin’s The Tramp of 2023,” Khabbaz says. “Life has wiped him. He has a dramatic story beyond the comedy, as becomes clear later on in the series. He is asked to be somebody he isn’t, and for this, he is all the more eager to fulfil his dream. He needs to prove himself.
“The first thing I established while writing was Youssef’s relationship with his father and his brother who died before he was born. This is a man who was forced to lie all his life; he has had to lie to his parents to convince them he is his brother, with whom he shares a name. The lie has grown with him. It is in his construction. You see in the series how he is made to lie, but in his essence, he is a good person who doesn’t want to lie but was born into a lie.”
Brando El Sharq features a stellar core cast. Releasing two episodes weekly on MBC Shahid, the series stars Amal Arafa, Jihad Saad, Camille Salameh, Zeina Makki and Talal Jurdi. Several surprise cameos include appearances by Elie Mitri and Fouad Yammine. It comprises 10 episodes, with four already released and the rest coming out weekly. The series is produced by Sadek Sabbah from Cedar Arts Productions.
Director Amin Dora says he was intent on establishing a visual and rhythmic distinction between Youssef’s film pitches and his real-life moments.
“I divided it into three layers,” he says. “First, there is Youssef as a real character. Whenever he’s around his father or sister, you can feel there’s something going on. When he’s with the producers, the camera work approach was more dynamic and quicker, because he is someone else. And then with Amal’s character, it’s the only place where he feels loved because he knows she loves him. You can feel like it's choreographed, like a dance.
“The series starts as a comedy but then suddenly you realise this character has a deeper place,” Dora says. “And up until episode 10, you’ll keep discovering who Youssef is.”
Brando El Sharq, or Brando of the East, an epithet for the character Khaled Salah in the series, is everything that Youssef is not but yearns to be, as is made evident by how he passes the thespian’s quotes and mannerisms as his own.
“The character of Brando is more of an idea of stardom,” Dora says. He explains that the film depicts a journey to finding Brando, while meeting other characters. “We then thought it would also be fun to bring on guest stars to play those characters. The scene in episode four, for instance, between Georges [Khabbaz] and Adel [Karam] is one of the most hilarious scenes ever.”
Dora says he is overjoyed at the feedback the series has received so far and is looking forward to seeing how audiences will react to the new directions it will take in the next six episodes.
“I’m waiting for all 10 episodes to release,” he says. “Because it really goes in different directions.”
As for a second season, Khabbaz says while he had intended Brando El Sharq to be a self-contained story, he isn’t ruling out the possibility of expanding on an aspect of the series in the future.
“I could go back and see that another story could grow out of one part of what we’ve seen."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
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The five pillars of Islam
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clinicy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Prince%20Mohammed%20Bin%20Abdulrahman%2C%20Abdullah%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%20and%20Saud%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2025%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20More%20than%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Gate%20Capital%2C%20Kafou%20Group%20and%20Fadeed%20Investment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Palestine and Israel - live updates
The years Ramadan fell in May
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
